Chirag Paswan slams Bihar govt’s ‘delayed, less than adequate’ response to migrant crisis

In an embarrassment to the ruling NDA in Bihar, outside partner Lok Janshakti Party Monday slammed the state government’s "delayed" and "less than adequate" response to the hardships faced by stranded migrant workers and students.

LJP chief Chirag Paswan, the son of party’s founding president and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, caused a flutter by making public a letter he wrote to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and following it up with an interview to a news channel.

“Our party is supporting, but not a part of the government in Bihar,” junior Paswan told the channel. “We are not satisfied with the arrangements in place for facilitating the return of students from places like Kota and migrant workers spread across the country.”

The LJP’s recent stands over several issues have led to much speculation in the political circles of Bihar where Assembly elections are due by the end of the year.

In his capacity as a Union minister, Ram Vilas Paswan has been hitting out at the state government for its alleged failure to provide the Centre with details of more than one million people who were not getting ration benefits because they did not have ration cards.

Chirag, the MP from Jamui, lamented that Chief Minister Kumar agreed to bring back students from Rajasthan’s Kota, where they had been stuck since the imposition of lockdown, allegedly after much delay and up on his relentless request.

He also said that he believed the state government was making efforts to ensure that all students and migrant workers reach their homes, but, he added, these appeared to be “inadequate”.

Chirag also reiterated points he raised in his letter to Kumar, which was shared on social media. He criticized the government for creating a “tedious” registration system for migrant workers who have to enter their details online, saying they may not have the requisite education to do it.

He also said that thousands of young boys and girls from Bihar are still stuck at Kota, waiting for their turn to catch a train back home.

Every year a large number of medical and engineering aspirants from Bihar go to Kota, the coaching hub in Rajasthan.

The LJP chief, who has of late been using the prefix ‘yuva Bihari’ to his name on his official Twitter handle, was, however, full of praise for Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and said the senior BJP leader has assured him over phone that as many trains as possible will be run to whichever part of Bihar the state government indicates.

Asked about his criticism of the state government, despite it being ruled by the NDA of which his party was a part, Chirag said, "We are supporting the government in the state. We are not part of it and, therefore, have no responsibility to share".

His party is a part of the NDA government at the Centre.

Notably, his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras was a minister in the state cabinet, but following his election to the Lok Sabha, the state government has no representation from the LJP.

When asked why he was not choosing to come out openly in revolt against a government he was so critical of, Chirag cryptically replied "this is not the time to do so".

There was no immediate response from the JD(U), headed by Nitish Kumar, to the criticism.

The young LJP leader had left the party sore in March also when during the course of his Bihar First-Bihari First state-wide tour, which had to be curtailed following the coronavirus outbreak, he highlighted many “failures” of the CM in his 15-year rule.

The BJP, which apart from ruling the Centre is a junior partner in the state government, has been maintaining a telling silence over the minor constituent’s frequent run-ins with the Chief Minister’s party.